clear coat on new car

[tahoe healey]

My new car is 6 weeks old and has a clear coat over dark red. The clear coat seems to looked scratched where ever I touch it. The dealer says they use Meguires NXT. I tried it and it still shows the scratches. I'm in snow country so I need good protection. Any suggestions?

 

[R6MGS]

What make is your car?? Sometimes they use different clear coats....I am not a big fan of clear coats, but have had many compliments on the finish on my Caddy(clear on dark green)...I have a 3 step process that gets it looking like a mirror....Start with 3M polishing compound(got it from sherwin williams, and not cheap) then Mothers sealer/glazer, and finally a coat of Nufinish...I prefer not to use electric buffers becasue I feel I can do a better job by hand, but others swear by the buffer so it's up to you.

 

[tahoe healey]

Thanks for the quick response. Porsche, Cayenne. I'll check out the Mothers stuff. I like there aluminum cleaner.

 

[GB1]

I have had good sucess with the three part system, but plan to spend the better part of the day.

 

[kennypinkerton]

Meguires 3-stage.

 

[Stewart]

I use step one and two of the Maguire's 3 step process with an orbital buffer. Works wonders getting the offroading pin striping off my dark green truck.

For new paint I would skip step one and use the step 2 polish.

Wax wise I've really liked the turtlewax platinum but this week I tried the zybol and it came out to a very nice finish.

 

[tony barnhill]

Man, I'd worry about clear coat on a new car that's already causing problems...the clear coat on my '82 380SL has just started dying - & it never looked scratched or lost its shine

I'd be taking that puppy dog to the dealer for them to correct it....

 

[R6MGS]

Clear coat has changed a lot since 82...It was better back then...now even the high end manufacteurs are too cheap to do it properly...I thin coat of color and some cheap but shiny clear coat and their done....I find most new cars are very easily scratched.

 

[tony barnhill]

Another reason to stay with my present cars!

 

[GTScott]

New guy here....this is one forum where I actually may be able to help!

If you want great protection, you need to go to a synthetic sealant. While these offer the best protection, they often give a somewhat sterile or "plasticy" look. As far as synthetic sealants go, I like Poorboy's EX-P (www.poorboysworld.com). I use Zaino (www.zainostore.com) on my daily drivers and get several months of protection from it.

Products like NXT contain a great amount of fillers. You will find that it appears that you have removed the swirls and scratches when you have really just filled them with oils and silicone. Afew washes later and the swirls are back. If you really want to remove them, something like Menzerna Intentive Polish or Final Polish II would be great. Poorboy's also has a good swirl removal line. You will have to try some of these out and see what the lighest product you can use that will remove the swirls without making more work for you by marring the clearcoat. All clearcoats vary a bit in hardness. Also, for swirl removal, you would be well served by a dual action polisher like the Porter Cable 7424 or a rotary (Dewalt, Hitachi, etc.) if you are really confident.

Best of luck!
-GT